About The Wood Technology Society

The Institute of Wood Science was incorporated in 1955, limited by guarantee (see the title page and list of original directors on our original Memorandum). It was registered as a charity in 1998. In 2009 the activities of the IWSc were taken on by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and The Wood Technology Society was formed as a division of IOM3.

The Society, originally based in the City of London, UK, is the professional body for the timber and allied industries. It aims to promote and encourage a better understanding of timber, wood-based materials and associated timber processes.

The Society exists for all who care for and have an interest in timber and wood based products and, in particular, those employed within the timber importing, merchanting, manufacturing and user industries, together with those in education and research. In conjunction with a number of colleges and training agencies in the UK and Ireland, the Society organises courses in wood technology and utilisation and awards appropriate qualifications.

What can WTS offer?

The WTS is a vibrant community of wood technologists from all sides of the timber industry and related activities. Members are invited to join an increasing number of talks and events dotted across the UK. Members also receive the WTS Newsletter (with updates relevant to the industry), the International Wood Products Journal (a scientific publication specifically on wood science and technology), and Materials World the IOM3 publication.

Of late, a plethora of routes to learning has come on stream - the Wood Technology Society affords what is lacking with all of them which is a recognised, but as yet undervalued by that community, professional qualification. If we are successful, that professional qualification will once again become highly valued by employers and employees alike.

The WTS can offer all of the benefits of being a member of IOM3, including a route to post nominal recognition and professional membership.

Through IOM3, the WTS can provide a community and a forum for wood users and like-minded people. Central IOM3 specialists can provide technical advice, membership support and develop membership initiatives.

WTS Sustainability Statement

The Wood Technology Society (WTS) wholeheartedly supports the general principles of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining’s sustainability policy with a particular emphasis on the role that wood can play in a sustainable future.

The WTS acknowledges the three pillars of sustainability – economic, environmental, social – and endeavours to further global advancement of all three through the use of wood.

The WTS is confident that, with appropriate application, wood is innately sustainable and seeks to promote the use of timber wherever possible, in short- or long-term usage, mindful of the ability of growing trees to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide and to effectively store this greenhouse gas fixed in the wood as biogenic carbon.

The WTS recognises the importance of understanding the true sustainable nature of materials and products and supports the use of life cycle assessment, forest stewardship and other tools to quantify the sustainability of a product or process.

However, the WTS also acknowledges the use of unsustainable practices within the timber industry and will, through its work, strive to influence the industry away from such practices.

"Whatever Happened to the Institute of Wood Science?"

The transcript of an article written in April 2016 for the TTJ explaining the transition of the Institute of Wood Science into a constituent member organisation of IOM3 appears here.

Institue of Wood Science "The first Forty Years 1955 - 1995."

Click here for a one page summary of the Institute's first 40 years. First published March 1995.

Downloadable documents

"Jim and Spencer Explain"

A third wood science clip has been added to the popular series of 'Jim and Spencer explain' videos. In this issue Jim and his grandson Spencer discuss water in wood.

Earlier in the series Jim and Spencer discussed the strength of timber, and the difference between hardwoods and softwoods.